Educational Methods Commons^™

The Infusion Of Theater Arts In The Teaching Of Language Arts: Its Impact On The Academic Achievement Of Fifth Grade Students, Margaret P. Campbell

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

A Guidebook Of Resources And Interactive Literacy Activities For Use By Parents With Primary Students, Cheryl Ann Youngblood

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to create a home Literacy Guidebook to increase children's reading and writing skills. By encouraging parental support at home through the use of children's literature and relevant activities, the lessons are intended to make learning fun and meaningful for children and their parents. Research reviewed supported the significance of the parents' role in literacy development at home and at school. Parents who read to their children and practice related activities contribute to their children's success in school. The guidebook includes children's literature selections, book lists for future readings, step-by-step instructions to guide parents through …

Interactive And Textbook Lessons In Science Instruction: Combining Strategies To Engage Students In Learning, Christina Puentes

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Students in elementary classrooms are not receiving science instruction that is engaging and challenging. The review of the literature indicates that the way that the information is presented has more of an impact on the students than simply whether they comprehend the information. Studies show that hands-on science instruction allows success beyond the classroom, hands-on activities excite students about leaning and science in general, and that the hands-on activities create confidence in the children. Research also indicates that students who receive textbook based lessons earn scores similar to students who learn through hands-on lessons. This study explores the effects of …

Audio-Assisted Reading With Digital Audiobooks For Upper Elementary Students With Reading Disabilities, Kelli J. Esteves

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Audio-assisted reading has been used as an effective instructional intervention for students with learning disabilities (Carbo, 1978; Gilbert, Williams, & McLaughlin, 1996) and with struggling readers (Chomsky, 1976; Hollingsworth, 1978; Hoskisson & Krohm, 1974; Koskinen, Blum, Bisson, Phillips, Creamer, & Baker, 2000; Rasinski, 1990). The strategy involves reading along while listening to an audio recording of a fluent model (Evans, 1997).

The goal of this study was to compare the efficacy o f audio-assisted reading with digital audiobooks against the traditional practice of sustained silent reading in terms of reading fluency rates and reading attitude scores with upper elementary students …

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Math Anxiety: What It Is And How It Can Be Prevented By Elementary Classroom Teachers, Amy Christenson

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

The Power Of Visuals: Picture Books As Invitations To Literacy, Mary Jo Skillings

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

When young children are exposed to picture books, they are building important bridges to literacy. Picture books are sometimes defined as a storybook with a dual narrative. That is, the illustrations and text work interdependently, the integration of the visual and the verbal tell the story. The illustrations add a new dimension that extends beyond the words on the page; together, the text and pictures make the story stronger. A well crafted picture book is a feast for the eyes of a young child. The illustrations awaken and develop the child’s visual, mental, and verbal imagination.

Incorporating Nonfiction Into The Primary Grades: A Handbook For K-2 Teachers, Mandee D. Burton

All Graduate Projects

The majority of reading done outside the school setting is primarily nonfiction in nature; however primary teachers continue to emphasize fictional texts in the classroom. Therefore, many students are unprepared for the increase in the use of nonfiction text which begins in the intermediate grades and continues on up through the college years. Students as young as kindergarten benefit from the early exposure to nonfiction in numerous ways including increased background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension. A handbook was created to assist teachers (K-2) in incorporating nonfiction into the primary grades. Eight strategies effective in improving students' comprehension of nonfiction as …

A Study Of The Status Of The Strategic Planning Process As Used By Public School Districts In Six Suburban New York City Counties, Bartholomew Linehan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Over the past two decades, strategic planning has emerged as a management tool to assist administrators in leading public school districts forward. If strategic planning is an important administrative tool in moving a school district toward its vision, how and in what form is it being utilized in suburban New York City school districts? The purpose of this study was to understand the utilization of strategic planning in suburban New York City school districts and to understand the constraints, training and technical needs regarding strategic planning. This study also discusses the relationship existing between strategic planning and the key district …

Exploring Animal-Assisted Therapy As A Reading Intervention Strategy, Maria S. Kaymen

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This study is an examination of animal-assisted therapy in an attempt to explore the ways it may serve as reading intervention program for struggling readers. Due to the low rate of literacy in the U.S., children are often put into reading intervention programs where they are required to read to an adult; potentially creating anxiety that may act as a deterrent to reading regularly, and thus contributing to the condition of aliteracy, that is, possessing the basic skills to read yet having no desire to do so. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the ways in which …

Collaborating With Colleagues To Improve Student Learning Using The Connected Mathematics Project, Margaret D. Seifer

Graduate Student Independent Studies

I am a teacher of mathematics at Millburn Middle School, Millburn, New Jersey. During my nine years at Millburn, I have taught using the Connected Mathematics Program (CMP) for seven years to eighth graders and before that, I taught CMP in it's pilot stage to sixth graders.

This guide is a result of my thinking and learning during my time at Bank Street College. The guide is based on a journey through my learning as a professional developer. It is a tool which, I hope, will be of some use to other CMP leaders. It is hoped that if such …

Animals And Biographies: Integrated Units For Third/Fourth Looped Classes, Kimberly Lynn Bonsen

All Graduate Projects

This handbook was designed for teachers in a third-to-fourth grade looping classroom. The lessons integrate reading and writing, and the second year (fourth grade) builds upon skills and strategies introduced in the first year (third grade). The third grade set of lessons focuses study on animals while the fourth grade set of lessons focuses on biographies. The handbook contains a OLE/Lesson plan matrix, information for teachers before beginning both sets of lessons, twelve third grade lessons, thirteen fourth grade lessons, and extension activities for both animals and biographies. The final section in the handbook is an appendix that contains every …

Helping Children To Understand Particulate Nature Of Matter, Muhammad Riaz

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Whenever I taught about the particulate nature of matter in solids, liquids and gases, I often had difficulty explaining this abstract concept to my students. The students, in turn, had much difficulty conceptualizing the structure and behavior of the particles, which ultimately led to difficulties in understanding the complex configuration of particles in matter at various levels. This article focuses on studies that reveal students’ alternative frameworks for the particulate nature of matter in solids, liquids and gases. Also, I suggest factors that contribute to these alternative frameworks, incorporating my own experiences in developing an understanding of this concept. Finally, …

Flexible Reading Groups For Literacy In A First Grade Classroom, Sharon Ann Parker

All Graduate Projects

The professional literature on the configuration of flexible reading groups for reading instrnction in a regular first grade classroom was examined to determine if flexible grouping yields any benefit to students who have been assessed to be below grade level in reading. The research showed support for the idea that flexible, fluid grouping is an accelerant to producing higher levels of reading improvement. As a result, an instructional handbook was created to aid educators in the implementation of flexible reading group instruction.

The Impact Of Direct Reading Instruction For Middle School Students At Newfield Middle School, Newfield, New York, Robert R. Ike

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

The Impact Of An Intensive Literacy Program On The Sustained Reading Achievement Of Second Grade Students, Rita Cestaro Meehan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

An Integrated Approach To School Development In Northern Areas Of Pakistan, Mola Dad Shafa

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

I started my career as a primary school teacher working for the Aga Khan Education Service in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. I was one of AKU-IED’s first-cohort Professional Development Teachers (PDTs), and was the only course participant from the Northern Areas of Pakistan in the first MEd course. Having completed the MEd degree from AKU-IED, I went back to my parent institution and was assigned the management of 30 schools. My post-MEd work, which reflects an integrated approach to school development, ranges from conducting professional development programmes for teachers and head teachers, increasing students’ voice in school improvement-related decisions, …

Adhd: What Educators And Parents Should Know, Jessica J. Foust

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

The Impact Of Classroom Organization In Grade 4 On Student Achievement In Science, Edward Duncanson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

Divorce: A Teacher's Perspective On How It Affects Primary Age Children And Their Behavior In An Elementary School Setting, Reina Moriah Beere-Kuklinski

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Reading And Phonological Awareness Gains In A Second/Third Grade Bridge Class, Lian Chen

Theses & Honors Papers

Reading is a fundamental skill that is used on a daily basis as we are bombarded with print. It is also the basis for the majority of formal education. When someone lacks the skills and strategies needed to read, reading becomes a frustrating experience. The key to overcoming deficits in reading is prevention utilizing research-based methodology. This widely debated topic has lead to the recognition of the necessity of the infusing of phonics into the instruction. In this study, a one-on-one, cross age peer tutoring program using systematic, explicit phonics instruction, Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons, …

Ghair Riyasati Idary, Bernadette L. Dean

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

The Nairobi Model: A Focus On Primary Science Classroom Practice, Harcharan Pardhan, Alan E. Wheeler

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This (school based approach) complements the other advantage which comes with school-based teacher education: the opportunity to take stock of a learner-teacher’s needs, and, over an extended period, to cater for these needs, to monitor the ways they develop, and toe respond to these developments.

The Relationship Of Reading Recovery Teachers' Efficacy To Length Of Service And School System Support, M. Louise Moon

Dissertations

Existing research results directly relate teachers’ efficacy to student outcomes and to continuing staff development and school context; however, little work has been done to investigate these relationships for Reading Recovery teachers. Reading Recovery (RR) is an early intervention program designed to assist first grade children who are having difficulty learning to read and write. This program requires ongoing staff development and an implementation plan designed to provide appropriate school context; therefore, survey data were collected from Reading Recovery teachers to study relationships between teacher efficacy and (a) their length of service in Reading Recovery and (b) support for RR …

The Exceptional Educational Needs Child In The Art Room: Teaching Through The Seven Multiple Intelligences, Kathleen M. Hackbarth

Master of Science of Adaptive Education Theses

Inclusion and mainstreaming have left many art teachers unprepared. They have not been trained as adaptive art teachers. There are basic fears among many on how to teach art to special education children. Some art teachers decline a school assignment after finding out they would have an adaptive class with cognitively disabled (CD) or hearing impaired (HI) students. Oftentimes, special needs children are left behind because it takes more time and special training to help them participate in art. The purpose of this study is to gain insight and understanding of the total art experience of students with special needs …

Preservice Teacher Education Using Flexible, Thematic Cohorts, Kenneth D. Peterson, Nancy Benson, Amy Driscoll, Ronald B. Narode, Douglas Sherman, Carol Tama

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Describes one school of education's response to the call for reform, and outlines the qualities unique to institutional change experienced in its evolution from a four-year undergraduate program to a fifth-year graduate teacher preparation program featuring thematic cohorts of students. Profiles of four of the cohorts are presented.

Children Learning To Write: A Progression Through Predictable Stages, Shirley D. Vestal

Masters Theses

A first-grade teacher documents her students' progression through predictable stages as they learn to write: distinct units of scribbling and/or ground line and profile in drawing, letters, words, sentences, story structure (character, setting, problem, solving the problem, and ending the story/telling how the characters felt), and conventions (capital letters, punctuation, and conventional spelling).

Criteria based on readability at each stage by a knowledgeable and sensitive reader are an important aspect of this study.

The class writes every day using a five-day story format:

Day One: Character Pink paper

Day Two: Setting Blue paper

Day Three: Problem Yellow paper

Day Four: …

School Ka Sabaq: Literacy In A Girls Primary School In Rural Pakistan, Iffat Farah

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper (which is part of a larger ethnographic study) describes literacy learning practices in the context of a girls' school in rural Pakistan. In this context, school ka sabaq is recognized as involving reading and writing activities, and behavior particular to the institution of the school. A description of the reading and writing activities as well as the division of time and space in the school shows that literacy activities are reflected in and determined by the context of the particular institution within which they are learned and practiced. The author also describes school-community relations and the community's goals …

A Staff Development Program For Paraprofessionals, Marjorie Brickley

Graduate Student Independent Studies

A description of the process of designing a staff development program for paraprofessionals working with children birth - 3 years of age. The thesis highlights special issues that infant/toddler programs face. The staff development process includes an assessment of the caregiver's skills, setting goals for the improvement of the program, a description of the 2 day training that was held, and an evaluation of the changes that resulted from the staff development experience.

Teaching Communication Skills Through Video Tape Productions, Jane R. Fleetwood

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Motivating students to learn and practice effective communication skills has always been a dilemma for teachers of all grade levels. Video cameras and camcorders are now being used as teaching tools in many schools to not only motivate students to use and practice a variety of skills, but to stimulate their creativity, as well. Loretto Elementary School in

Jacksonville, Florida, is developing a program which incorporates student-written video productions into its existing curriculum. Loretta's innovative program is a direct result of a 10-rninute informational video tape production done by graduate student Jane Fleetwood and Continental Cablevision, a local cable television …